"We have been nice girls long enough. We’ve made our cholent…we should take to the streets." - Blu Greenberg

Monday, January 7, 2013

Hierarchy of Needs

Don't forget to submit an entry to theSecond Annual Star of Davida Essay Contest!My school does a
program with a school for girls from difficult family situations in Pinsk, Belarus.
Students travel to Pinsk
over their winter break and hang out with the girls. Last year, I didn’t have the
privilege of going, but two of my best friends did. One of them told me that
they played a game with the Pinsk girls called Priorities, where they went
through cards that said things like “family,” “friends,” “being skinny,” etc.
and prioritized them. All of the girls put “being skinny” last.

This really
shows how cultural and situational differences really impact a person’s mindset.
85% of these girls have one parent or less; many of them can’t afford things as
basic as pajama pants. The last worry on their minds is how they look.

Obviously, they
live in a different world than we do, and it wouldn’t be fair to tell a middle
class Western girl that she’s being ungrateful when she feels down about how she looks or her weight. I think this really gives perspective,
though, and makes us grateful for all of the things that we have.

In psychology,
Abraham Maslow has the pyramid of needs: physiological needs required for survival; safety needs, from physical to economic security; love and belonging needs, whether from friends, family, or a partner; esteem needs, to be valued and respected by others; then, finally, self-actualization, when the person realizes his or her full potential and become all that he or she can possibly be.

If we accept Maslow's pyramid of needs as true, the girls in Pinsk are stuck on the lower levels of the pyramid of needs, where Western girls have the privilege to be a little higher up. Again, I don't want to fault Western girls for having an advantage, but thinking about how much privilege we do have does put things in perspective, at least for me.

About Me

Prayer for Agunot

Creator of heaven and earth, may it be Your will to free the captive wives of Israel when love and sanctity have fled the home, but their husbands bind them in the tatters of their ketubot. Remove the bitter burden from these agunot and soften the hearts of their misguided captors. Liberate Your faithful daughters from their anguish. Enable them to establish new homes and raise up children in peace.

Grant wisdom to the judges of Israel; teach them to recognize oppression and rule against it. Infuse our rabbis with the courage to use their power for good alone.